Click to see full-size image. By the Israeli Air Force.
The death toll from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombardment on the Gaza Strip has reached 4,385, including 1,756 children and 967 women, the Hamas-run health ministry said in its latest update on October 21.
Another 13,561 Palestinians were wounded, the ministry said, noting that a large number of people are still under the rubble.
The death toll is expected to rise as the IDF continues to bombard Gaza. At least 46 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Strip overnight.
24 were killed in a strike that hit the al-Motawwaq family in Jabalia. A strike on the al-Ajrami family in Jabalia killed another ten people. Five people from the Khader family, four children and a woman, were also killed in a strike. Another seven people were killed in Israeli air raids in central Deir el-Balah and al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
In the morning, at least 13 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. The strike struck a single residential unit.
Commenting on the high number of fatalities, a doctor at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza told Al Jazeera that the wounded people brought to the facility face many complications, adding that the death rate had reached 100 percent.
The doctor said that the IDF had been using what he described as “unusual” weapons, adding that this was the first time they were seeing such injuries and fourth-degree burns throughout the body.
From its side, the IDF said that it struck Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, including operational headquarters and anti-tank guided missile launchers. Other infrastructure used by the movement were also targeted with strikes, according to the military.
Despite the heavy bombardment, Hamas and its allies launched dozens of rockets at Israeli settlements near Gaza. At least two rocket attacks also targeted the city of Tel Aviv in central Israel. In addition, an Israeli tank that was operating to the west of Khan Yunis city was targeted with a missile.
As the IDF prepares to invade Gaza, the humanitarian situation there continues to deteriorate. In the morning, 20 aid trucks carrying medical supplies and food entered the Strip from Egypt. However, Israel is still preventing any fuel shipment from entering.
The air shipment, which is not enough to cover the needs of Gaza, is thought to have been allowed in after Hamas released two American hostages who were captured by its fighters during the October 7 surprise attack on Israel that started the war. According to the latest update by the IDF, at least 210 were captured in the attack.
The death toll in Israel from the attack and following battles in Gaza as well as the clashes with Hezbollah on the Lebanon front has reached 1,405. In addition, more than 5,000 other Israelis have been wounded so far.
Israel is expected to take more losses once its troops storm Gaza. Fierce battles will likely take place in the highly-dense Strip, where Hamas and its allies have been preparing a complex network of underground defenses for years.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC:
here is prove that it was usa made jdam that hit the al-ahli hospital in gaza. see: http://alturl.com/veyu3